Echelon Homes

We contracted with Echelon in Apr 2013. Projected move in date was October 2013. Then it was mid November, then it was first week in Dec, then it was Christmas till finally they said mid to late Feb. According to the contract, Echelon was supposed to notify us in writing if there were any delays over 15 days. That never happened, not even once. The home designer they sent us to was a waste of time. Echelons "allowances" are so low it was next to impossible to find anything cheap enough to fit with in budget. And when it  came time to buy and install what we did manage to pick out, it was no longer available. Then they sent us to a second interior designer and then to a new carpet place. 10 months after the home was started, we moved in on Feb 28, 2014. We honestly thought they all had daytime jobs and just did this at night!On our final inspection prior to moving in, numerous deficiences  were noted. To name just a few, bubbles in the linoleum floor, light switches in the wrong place, lights that do not work. Shower doors were installed upside down. During the last storm, we had water coming in thru the garage by the back door. A man who was installing screens on the windows was asked by the builder to inspect the water seepage. The concrete out front looks like someone tried to put a design on it and failed. Same with the back patio. Someone told me it was caused by the hay they used to cover it up. Don't know if that can be fixed, but it really looks bad. Both shower surrounds are damaged and looks like they may have been factory seconds. We had paint peeling in both bathrooms. Have not heard from them since we moved in. The final appraisal came in $50,000 under what they charged us to build this house. They advertise a "builder incentive refrigerator" on their web site. Don't believe it! They still have not gotten back to me on what that is or why it did not apply to me.
Most of the stuff we were able to have someone come in and fix, but there are some things I can't afford to fix at this time, such as the shower surrounds. It will require ripping them out and totally replacing them. Not sure if we want to do that so we will probably live with the way it looks. Same goes for the concrete. Looks like garbage, but I can't afford to have it replaced.
So, bottom line is, buyer beware. This was our experience "working" with them. It wasn't fun at all!!